South Korea’s Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Tuesday he believes North Korea may deploy its new large caliber rocket launcher as early as this year, and that the new weapons system can substitute some of the existing short-range ballistic missiles.

Han said the new 300-milimeter-caliber multiple rocket launch system is better than the ballistic missiles in that it is cheaper to manufacture and can fire multiple rockets at once.
The military believes it has homing devices with a maximum range of 200 kilometers, based on which Han said it has the potential to substitute short-range Scud missiles on some level.

“We (the military) have been keeping an eye on development of the rocket launcher for the past three years. We assess that its development is nearly complete based on its recent test launches,” he said in a joint media interview.

Han added that Pyongyang can carry out the next nuclear test “whenever the leadership decides to do so.” North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently ordered his troops to conduct a nuclear warhead test for ballistic missiles.

Han said such tests can take the form of either detonating a nuclear warhead underground or test firing its ballistic missile without a nuclear warhead.

The minister also acknowledged a potential shift in the U.S.’ military strategy in Asia.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump recently indicated that if elected, he would not intervene in a potential war between Japan and North Korea, saying the U.S. “can’t be the policeman to the world” and have trillions of dollars in debt.

“What Trump is saying appealed considerably to many Americans. Such reactions could mean that there is a new trend in the U.S., and we should react accordingly,” Han said.

This does not imply any immediate changes regarding the Seoul-Washington alliance or military cooperation, he added.

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)